sIf time travelling was possible, would you want to go back in time or travel to the future? If you’re here in Kochi, what would you prefer—travelling to its past or to its future that losks as enticing as its past? Whenever we hear the phrase ‘Kochi pazhaya Kochiyalla,’ it makes us wonder for a moment about the weaves and looms of change that have come about in Kochi. An ambitious city flourishing in leaps and bounds, Kochi has seen a lot more changes than what meets the eye compared to other cities and towns in the state. Sometimes we are obliged to believe it’s a great and appreciable change and yet sometimes we bow down shamefully to what the city looks like in comparison to our golden olden days. Where are the greens? Where are the playgrounds? High-rise buildings, longer trails of vehicles on the road and improved connectivity in Kochi are some of the obvious signs of urbanisation. Buildings and businesses, transportation, fashion and shopping, food habits, automobiles, printing houses—they have all changed. Digging deep into Kochi’s new-found ways of travelling, eating, clothing, speech and reacting to situations, let’s look into the extent of change that has come about in the last 20 years. 

Things that remain

Being a port city that sees a perennial deluge of tourists, it has been Kochi’s sweet obligation to preserve some of the oldest buildings in Kerala including the Jewish Synagogues at Fort Kochi and Ernakulam, the Dutch Palace and the Hill Palace. These are some of the oldest architectures which remain untouched by Kochi’s swells of urbanisation. But moving further towards the interiors of the city, we get to see high-rise buildings, malls, and flyovers that did not exist until a few decades back. As this happened, some buildings had to be demolished while some have lost its distinction to the other towering constructions that came afterward. However, some buildings and places have not lost all their former glory and continue to contribute to Kochi’s old-world charm. For instance, a walk down to the Ernakulam market today during the peak hours of a day would probably make us wonder if anything has ever changed at all. Fort Kochi, Mattancherry and the Shanmugham road that stretches from High court to Park Avenue Road are some of the other few places that have resisted change. One thing out of all the adorable quirks about Kochi is its interesting names of places. Menaka, Padma, Pulleppady, Kappalandimukku, Kacheripady, Jos Junction and more on a long trailing list of names might give you the nudge to question its origins. These names once belonged to a person, a business or an institution related to the area. Started in the 60s, Jos Brothers, situated on MG Road, is famously known for pioneering premium services in fabric care in Kerala. The shop later became Kochi’s most reliable fashion hub. To this day, the place where it stands is locally known as Jos Junction. Once a popular theatre, Menaka is now a stand-alone bazaar called Penta Menaka that sells and repairs electronic gadgets. In the present-day Kochi, identifying a place has become as easy as finding the number on the nearest metro pillar or switching on Google maps on your phone. But to defend our old ways of roaming around the city, we ought to be grateful to have such strange place names that easily help you reach your destinations.

Besides these long-lasting names and flashy features of Kochi, there are countless places and attributes that have been forgotten like a midnight’s dream. The Old Railway Station near the High Court that links to the Mangalavanam Bird Sanctuary, the Indian Coffee houses that serves special piping hot cutlets with red filling, Hotel Sealord which used to be one of the few star hotels in the city are some of the memorable yet almost-forgotten places in Kochi. Moreover, go for a short ride from Edappally to Marine Drive on your motorcycle. We wouldn’t need a time traveller from the past to be telling us that Kochi is no more the same. With lesser parking spaces and congested roads, you will see the glaring signs of how we are running out of space. Ever wondered why MG Road isn’t the celebrated shopping destination for Kochiites anymore? In late 2019, the business community of MG Road and Banerji Road expressed their concern to the Kochi Corporation over the loss of business due to lesser motorists stopping by to do shopping. The fact that MG road and its surroundings may never regain its old glory has inspired numerous suggestions from urban planning strategists which include transforming the region into a residential complex. Assuming that most business establishments in the city have shifted to the bypass, MG road has become a forgotten shopper’s stop today.

Kochi’s highlights

Everyone loves to brag about their own city. And as for the people of Kochi, she “is a feeling,” and one may find countless adjectives to describe her beauty and charm. However, rummaging through Kochi’s most extroverted traits of all time, we may find it’s a blend of good, bad and ugly. We find ourselves irrevocably tangled in this pretty mess of a city and take pride in being called a Kochiite. Be it the most enigmatic Chinese fishing nets at Fort Kochi or the heaps of waste that are washed beneath them, the city is a confluence of oxymoronic sights. Think of the mosquitoes—Kochiites’ most malicious co-habitants. The wastes on the street are no less different to be honest. As opposed to these obnoxious images, it is often the quality attributes of Kochi that win the attention of the people across the globe. The picturesque, green-edged backwaters that appear on the brochures and websites for Kerala Tourism, the fishing harbours at Chellanam and Munambam and the most humble souls that make a living out of the place, the colourful streets of Fort Kochi that simultaneously remind of a bygone colonial era and the Kochi Muziris Biennale, the malls and shopping complexes, the lights, the Kochi Metro and a lot more images of the present-day Kochi rush to our minds as we think of Kochi. For the tourists especially, a brief introduction about Kochi should definitely include these major attractions. Let’s not forget Fort Kochi and Mattancherry, which have always been the welcoming spots for tourists. Being separated from the mainland, these islands render a wholly different experience for the tourists. The involvement of Greater Cochin Development Authority (GCDA) in Kochi’s current progress is laudable.  V Salim, Chairman, GCDA, observes that people in Kochi, compared to the past, have been more involved and dedicated towards realising Kochi’s dreams of becoming metropolitan city. It stands true to an extent as we see more motorists on the roads wearing helmets, more people choosing eco-friendly means and lesser wastes on roadsides compared to the previous decade. “Considering Kochi’s importance as an economic centre on the map of Kerala, and its greater importance in the tourism sector, the city has seen an unparalleled growth. Lately, the city has also been seeing a sharp growth in the number of people migrating to Kochi, from near and far. These are good signs of its growth as a city,” he observes. Salim recalls an Old Kochi where there were not many places one could go to spend some quality time with their loved ones. “Be it to catch a movie, to eat out at a good restaurant or to do shopping, we all had to travel miles to reach the city which was smaller back then. Today it has expanded and new businesses have come up at every nook and corner of Ernakulam,” he adds. The founders of Anaswara points out that the quality of life in Kochi has improved immensely and so has the convenience. Sure, there have been drawbacks too, in terms of pollution, natural calamities and climate. These are things we have to survive and overcome,” they say. Moreover, the Kochi metro has been the greatest and most welcoming change in the last decade,” they say. Kochi’s SmartCity project deserves an honourable mention as one of Kochi’s most futuristic projects besides the Metro project.

Transportation

Not so long ago, Kochi had lesser options for commuting. We used buses, rickshaws, and boats to reach our destinations. And it was typical that one had to start hours ahead of time from home to avoid being late to places. However, today we have more options including the metro which is on a mission to improve the overall connectivity in Kochi. A significant change that promoted Kerala, let alone Kochi as a looming presence on the World Tourism Map was the construction of Cochin International Airport Limited in 1995. This was the first ever international airport that allowed people to travel to various parts of the world and invited tourists from different parts of the world. The traffic that we see today in Kochi owes much to this new international terminal. However, the local connectivity in Kochi can be narrowed down to water and land transportation. From the ferry boats to the Metro trains, we shall look into the timeline of how Kochi’s modes of transportation have transformed over the years. Sujith P M, Superintendent, Kerala Water Transport Department comments on the public transportation system in Kochi. “I believe the introduction of Kochi Metro has been an appropriate step towards solving Kochi’s menacing road traffic conditions. A majority of commuters in the city are commoners who work at small scale industries and they include the non-native Kochiites too. And as we dream, the integrated transportation system ideated by KMRL will hopefully make transportation in Kochi easier and cheaper for the public,” he says. The centralised ‘command and control’ system will introduce a common ticketing and timetable, uniting the transport systems in the city.  

The Boats

One of the oldest and cheapest modes of transportation in Kochi is the boats that ply over the romantic backwaters. The State Water Transportation Department has been seminal in bridging the gap between the tiny islands and the mainland. However, the importance of ferry services has waned since the Goshree bridges were constructed. Today, the Kochi Water Metro project under the Kochi Metro Rail Limited has an estimated plan of introducing 78 boats that will traverse 16 lines and 38 stations. Sujith remarks that despite the introduction of metro trains, people in Kochi are still on the roads on their cars and motorcycles, adding to the traffic congestions. “This is where the relevance of ferry services kicks in. People can always choose the boat services to avoid the traffic and pollution. Nevertheless, I personally feel Kochi has been consciously making the best use of the existing ferry services,” he says.

Auto-rickshaws

Although the cost-effectiveness of auto-rickshaws is often questioned, it has many takers in the city. Whether you’re running late to the office or tired of waiting long hours at the bus station, auto-rickshaws have been a great help since the 60s. Today, however, with the advent of taxi apps such as Uber and Ola, the auto-rickshaws are being side-tracked. Besides the yellow/black tuk-tuk Ferraris or Lambretta, which was once the only kind of auto-rickshaws plying across Kochi, now there are auto–taxis, auto rickshaws that run on CNG and LNG and even online auto rickshaws.

Buses

Regardless of numerous options we have today, buses remain one of the most affordable and reliable modes of transportation in Kochi. The bus transport system has a long history that trails back to the time before the formation of Kerala, which was established in 1938 by Maharaja Shree Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma. With over 50 glorious years of existence, the bus transport system has been the backbone of public transport in Kochi. The public road transport service in Kochi is dominated by the private buses (the red buses).

Kochi Metro Rail

On June 17, 2017, it was indeed a moment of pride for Kochi, when the first metro train majestically rolled out to the public. It has been one of Kochi’s most ambitious projects and as we enter the 3^rd year of its services, there is no question as to how it has phenomenally changed Kochi—not just in terms of infrastructure but also in how it has been creating awareness among people towards sustainable goals.  

Businesses, shopping and fashion

Kochi’s cosmopolitan status in the state owes much to the sheer elegance with which it has been keeping pace with the global trends. Kochi has been a fertile ground for the growth of businesses. And as this happened over the past few decades, there has been an obvious change in the city’s quality of life too. Thanks to the numerous malls and shopping centres in Kochi, the population is now more brand-conscious than ever. A little less than two decades ago, the second mall in Kochi (after Bay Pride Mall at Marine Drive), Oberon Mall, was opened to the public and shopping has never meant the same for Kochiites. The most-welcomed event of the last decade, however, was the construction of Lulu Mall at Edappally. Shibu Philips, Business Head, Lulu Malls tells how the construction of the international airport at Nedumbassery, has made Kochi a premier location for businesses and tourism. “In the last two decades, the city has seen tremendous growth in all aspects and it has now become the commercial hub of Kerala. People have picked up new interests and lifestyles, of which shopping and fashion are being marketed the most. Lulu, which opened its first mall in Kerala at Kochi a decade ago, has made the people more sensitive to the changing trends in the world of fashion and shopping. It is one place in Kochi where you get everything you need. For instance, shopping has never been easier for Kochiites since Lulu was opened,” he says. The dawn of mall culture in the city has however led to the dwindling businesses in other parts of the city. Sheela Kochouseph Chittilapilly, Managing Director of V-Star, who started her Innerwear garment business in 1995, is a rightful representative of the business community in Kochi. She says that Kochi’s rapid growth as a city has influenced many businesses in the area, sometimes even to the point of failure. “Behind the entire buzz about Kochi’s progress in the past few years, there are many ignored facts about the city that eerily predicts a premature end to the city’s pride and happiness. This largely includes the congested roads and unkempt infrastructure,” she says. Sheela is one of the many traders in Kochi whose business is being challenged by its unruly traffic. “The shops closer to the busy roads in Kochi suffer the most these days mainly due to inefficient parking spaces. To quote an example, one of my stores near the Palarivattom flyover has been struggling due to the decline in the number of customers. The government should take responsibility in such cases and help the failing businesses to get back on track,” she adds. 

Anaswara Offset Private Limited situated at Edappally is one of the oldest printing presses in Kochi. Founded in 1986, the company has been able to keep pace with the changing trends in printing. “Kochi has changed a lot over the last 20 years. We believe, if the policies in Kochi are made to improve the ease of doing business, we will definitely see another rapid growth in the coming years. Our advice to the aspiring entrepreneurs is that nothing is impossible as long as you’ve made a system strictly based on ethics and determination to go that extra mile. At Anaswara, our motto has been to change along with the market trends and technology. We have somehow managed to incorporate that in our lives as well,” they say.

And yes, that might be a crucial clue to live a prosperous life as a well-meaning Kochiite—to keep ourselves updated on what’s new and be resilient to change.  

Food behaviour 

What’s cooking in your Kitchen? Is it naadan, Chinese or North Indian food? One of the easiest ways to understand how a person or a community has changed during a course of time would be to observe how and what they eat. Over the last few decades, Kochi has been slowly absorbing a cosmopolitan culture, which means more people are dining out regularly. Unlike in the heyday, today we can find hotels and restaurants at every nook and corner of the city. And clearly, it’s not just the youngsters and travellers who frequent the eateries in the city today. Restaurants are now places that see just as many families and older people as other categories of people who dine out regularly. Another game changer in our food habits has been the internet. It’s not always naadan food for Kochiites now, is it? We either sign into Youtube to find new recipes and dishes or the food delivery apps that have been constantly prying on our gastronomic urges. With all these glaring facts laid out on the table, there is no question about Kochi’s changing food preferences. Gopal Mohan, co-owner of Gokul Oottupura belongs to the 3^rd generation of restaurateurs from his family. He points out that Kochi’s food interests have changed immensely. “Today, there is no dearth of international food brands in Kochi. However, for an average consumer, the flavours and comfort of local food is hard to replace. I believe there is a greater demand and shift towards authentic taste and flavours. It is very encouraging to see innovation and exploration happening in the industry in terms of bringing in new concepts, cuisines and also in providing an overall experience to the diners. For instance, vegetarian restaurants are not generally associated with a lot of innovation. But I feel there is opportunity to tap into the diverse food and lifestyle changes people have adopted,” he says. Gopal also comments on the advent of food delivery apps in the city. “Food delivery apps present a greater scope to reach a wider range of people and they have become an added business vertical for restaurateurs like me,” he says.

The pandemic has snatched the word ‘travel’ from us. Until our doors can open again, the memories of our previous globetrotting experiences will have to tide us over. Memories of our wanderings across this slice of a magical country. 

Cambodia is a country filled with beauty set against a backdrop of turbulent history. The first thing that comes to mind when I think of the country is the smiling faces of the locals, giving me their traditional Sampeah greeting and the sounds of the tuk-tuks. Filled with stories and culture, the cities of Phnom Penh and Siem Reap welcomed me with open arms and ushered me into their gorgeous lands. 

The French-built city of Phnom Penh—once known as the Pearl of Asia—bustles with the sounds of both locals and tourists. The easiest mode of transport around the city is by tuk-tuk. While there are taxis, motorcycles and buses, the charm that comes with travelling around the city in a tuk-tuk is unparalleled. The busy bazaars and markets are loud with Khmer, the language that the local people speak.

One of my first stops in the city was the Royal Palace. The palace, with its sprawling open grounds and iconic high yellow walls, is open to the public except for the royals’ living quarters as it is still a residential palace. One of the main attractions is the elaborate Silver Pagoda. No photographs are allowed inside but it is truly a sight to behold. It is home to a life-sized Gold Buddha covered with a whopping 2,086 diamonds. The temple gets its name from the floor, which is covered with 5 tonnes of gleaming silver. After a round of exploring, I joined other tourists to relax in the cool grass shaded by the Moonlight Pavilion.

History Beckons

Next, I made my way to the Choeung Ek Genocidal Centre. It is strange to describe a place named the ‘Killing Fields’ as peaceful, but it was just that. It is quiet and hushed, even as heaps of people walk through them. Most, including myself, had our audio guides in, which served as a necessary reminder that the peace the land carries now has come at a cost that is too heavy to fathom. A symbol of one of the darkest times in Cambodian history, the fields, where the Choeung Ek Memorial Park stands, served as the site for mass graves and executions. Millions of people were tortured and killed on these lands during the Khmer Rouge regime and it was bone-chilling to be instructed that we might notice skeletal remains or teeth washed up by rains while we walk in the park.

But despite the horrors of the past, Cambodia refuses to lock its doors, and concede defeat. The city is loud in its welcome and has much to offer the tourists who make their way to Phnom Penh. 

Food and Shopping

The Central Market is a must-visit for shopping and a healthy dose of Phnom Penh’s culture and people. It has four wings filled with shops and stalls selling gold and silver jewellery, antique coins, stationery and clothes, among other items. I purchased for myself a lovely krama, a checked scarf that is a traditional Cambodian garment commonly sold in the market. There are also a number of food stalls in this busy bazaar that sell street food delicacies. I also enjoyed my long walks down Sisowath Quay, a charming riverside promenade dotted with shops, cafes and restaurants.

The Khmer cuisine was a whole new experience for me. Some of my favourite new finds were the fish amok curry with its delicious coconut cream, and beef lok lak served with rice. There were some adventurous dishes on the menu at Romdeng, including deep fried tarantula, which I just could not muster up the courage to eat.

Romdeng is a lovely restaurant set in a French Colonial villa overlooking tropical gardens and a pool. This restaurant is run by members of an NGO which provides lifesaving support and vocational training to disadvantaged youths. Some of my favourite street food finds in the city were the delicious Yakitori chicken skewers that I picked up from the stall at Street 123 and the breakfast soup Kuy Teav. 

Siem Reap

A short plane ride away from Phnom Penh awaited Siem Reap, the gateway to the temples of Angkor. One of the sights I was most looking forward to visiting was Angkor Wat, the prestigious temple complex that is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. After the pleasantly shaky tuk-tuk ride to the temple at 4am, my guide insisted that we take the East Gate.

It was only as he handed me a small torch and began walking me down a dusty, narrow path that I began to second guess the decision. However, after a short wait in the darkness, sunrise came. My torch fell aside, forgotten, and I sat in awe, watching the majestic temples outlined against the sky that was coming to life. The East Gate is quiet and relatively undisturbed as most tourists flock to the lotus pond at the West Gate. Sitting there in the silence, with the cool, morning air against my skin was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. The temple itself is mesmerising, with 3,000 apsaras (heavenly nymphs) carved into the walls and bas-relief carvings that depict historical events and stories from mythology. Be sure to set aside an entire day to explore the vast and detailed Angkor complex.

My personal favourite has to be the ancient Ta Prohm temple, swallowed up and locked in by giant trees and their root systems. If you are a Tomb Raider fan, you are sure to recognise this temple from the movie. The temple has many narrow corridors, giving it a maze-like effect, although several are impassable. There is a greenish hue to the entire structure, as it stands part of the jungle, untouched by modern life. Next was Angkor Thom, the remnants of an elaborate, ancient city. It contains many temples including the Terrace of the Elephants, Phimeanakas and I ended the day with sunset at the Bayon temple. When I think of my trip, the memory of those 200-odd striking, smiling faces on the towers of the Bayon is one of my favourites. 

At the end of it, this resilient country and its lovely locals are sure to forge a place in your heart.

Best time to visit 

November to March 

Climate 

Tropical

Must-Visits

Choeung Ek Memorial Park, Ta Prohm, Central Market, Angkor Wat, National Museum of Cambodia